Landfill findings may impact sale

Oct. 15, 2008 11:00 PM

Written by

The Reporter

WAUPUN — The discovery of chemicals in an old prison landfill on state-owned land near Waupun may impact the terms of the sale between the city of Waupun and the State.

"The landfill has turned into a bigger issue than we anticipated," said Waupun City Administrator Gary Rogers Jr. "Apparently some years ago, the Department of Corrections may have deposited chemical materials into the landfill that are not environmentally friendly. As of now, we don't know the extent of the problem."

State Building Commission officials voted last March to sell the 260-acre parcel to the City of Waupun, even though no sale price has been negotiated. Rogers said the city hopes to draw an interested developer that would transform the farmland located at the intersection of Highways 151 and 49 into a commercial development.

"Right now, the Department of Administration is doing investigative work on the site through the Department of Natural Resources. In the next few weeks we should be in a position to know more. However, the city is doing due diligence by wanting to know more about the site," Rogers said.

Potential developers are aware of the now defunct landfill and don't appear to be overly concerned about it, he said. The landfill encompasses about five acres of the parcel.

The city may pull its original proposal for the entire parcel and make an offer on the western edge of the property that abuts Highway 151, Rogers said.

The Department of Corrections still hauls prison refuse to the site, which is deposited in large containers hauled away by a private contractor, he said.

Rogers said that approximately 160 acres of the property is suitable for development while the remaining acreage lies largely in a 100-year flood plain.